Trump grabs spotlight as Chiefs, Eagles meet in Super Bowl rematch

By Amy Tennery

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Fans are looking forward to a Super Bowl rematch for the ages on Sunday when the reigning Kansas City Chiefs play the Philadelphia Eagles, but a historic appearance from U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to steal the show.

Trump will be the first sitting president to attend the National Football League title game, an annual American tradition that brings together its favorite sport, celebrity-filled TV ads, an extravagant half-time show, and Taylor Swift.

Amid all the fanfare, Trump will be watching the Chiefs chase an unprecedented "three-peat" - a third win in a row - at the Superdome in New Orleans.

"If he jumps out on the field and streaks or decides to put on some pads, then he has a shot of overshadowing the game," said Michael Strahan, an NFL Hall of Famer who will be on hand as an analyst for broadcaster Fox Sports.

"People have waited all year for this - it's the biggest sporting event in the country. It's the reason that a lot of people show up, because they want the attention of being at the thing that gets the most attention."

Trump, a Republican who took office for a second term on January 20, had been a frequent topic of conversation in New Orleans even before he announced that he would attend the game.

Amid calls from the White House for private companies to drop diversity programs, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league - long criticized by DEI advocates for insufficient progress - would continue to try to diversify its coaching and personnel ranks.

"We're going to continue those efforts because we've not only convinced ourselves, I think we've proven ourselves that it does make the NFL better," Goodell told reporters at a Monday press conference.

"We're not in this because it's a trend to get in or a trend to get out of it."

A day later, when Trump's plan to attend Super Bowl 59 was announced, the league faced criticism over its decision to use the slogan "Choose Love" emblazoned on the field end zone for Sunday's game. In recent Super Bowls, it has chosen "End Racism" for the end zone and critics speculated that the decision was a nod to Trump.

A spokesman for the NFL denied there was any such link. He said teams used a variety of on-field slogans this year, including "Vote," "End Racism," "Stop Hate," and "Choose Love."

"The Super Bowl is often a snapshot in time," he told Reuters. "'Choose Love' is appropriate to use in the Super Bowl as our country has endured in recent weeks wildfires in southern California, the terrorist attack here in New Orleans, the plane and helicopter crash near our nation's capital and the plane crash in Philadelphia."

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In New Orleans' busy French Quarter, there was a reminder of that New Year's Day attack that killed 14 people at a curbside memorial at the place where a truck plowed into a crowd of pedestrians.

Dozens of National Guard soldiers were ranged through the neighborhood this week but the party got started nonetheless. Throngs of tourists slurped booze-fueled frozen cocktails and took in the vibrant music and party scene.

It was business as usual for the Chiefs and Eagles.

The game is a rematch of their Super Bowl 57 meeting, where the favored Chiefs eroded the Eagles' halftime lead to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

The script appears much the same this time, with the Chiefs playing Goliath to the Eagles' David, as their two-time MVP (Most Valuable Player) quarterback Patrick Mahomes and play caller Andy Reid, one of the most decorated coaches in the sport, lead the charge.

Standing in their way is the Eagles' astonishingly prolific running back Saquon Barkley and their versatile quarterback Jalen Hurts, who are ready to spoil the Chiefs' dynasty-building moment.

"To do it and be back a second time is really special," Hurts told reporters.

(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New Orleans, additional reporting by Rory Carroll, Nathan Frandino and Maria Alejandra Cardona; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)